South Carolina scored a major coup Wednesday by keeping 2015 guard P.J. Dozier at home.
“South Carolina wouldn’t be in the mix if I didn’t feel that they had the coaches and the players to do so [win], so I’m definitely excited to play along with them and try to get this thing going,” he said after slipping on a Gamecocks hat at Columbia (S.C.) Spring Valley High School.
The 6-foot-7 Dozier, ranked No. 24 nationally by 247Sports.com and No. 33 by Scout.com, also considered Louisville, North Carolina, Georgetown and Michigan.
His father and uncle both played at South Carolina, and now he follows suit.
“All the coaches did a great job recruiting,” Dozier said. “None of them were really better than the other. I think when it came down to it, it was just how I felt.”
Louisville had hoped to land Dozier after Antonio Blakeney decommitted in September, but despite their efforts they came up short. The Cardinals still have a three-man class including Brewster (N.H.) guard Donovan Mitchell and forwards Deng Adel and Raymond Spalding.
Longtime New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski offered this analysis of Dozier: “Big guard, missed his entire junior year with an ACL and came back and he’s 100 percent healthy. I think he’s one of the best second guard prospects in the class. He’s a very good player. He’s a good athlete… but he has a really good feel for the game. He plays within the flow. He can shoot the ball. He has skill. He has size, and he’s a young body. He’s going to fill out and he’s going to get stronger and more explosive. I think he’s a tremendous get for them.”
South Carolina also has a commit from 6-9 Roselle (N.J.) Catholic forward Chris Silva, who was to sign his NLI later Wednesday. The Gamecocks also remain in the mix for Tevin Mack, a 6-6 small forward from Columbia (S.C.) Dreher, who is also considering VCU and UConn, among others. Mack will announce Thursday.
